Shrimps: Surprisingly Delightful Companions
Words by ALI COO Rocky Schwartz
Last month, I had the opportunity to adopt several aquatic animals from someone moving and unable to take their tanks with them. And so I welcomed a colony of neocaridina shrimps into my home. When picturing shrimps, most of us likely first imagine shrimps inanimate, dead by the dozen on a plate as hors d'oeuvres or dismembered in a bowl of pasta. The term “shrimp,” however, refers to many thousands of species with a broad range of habitats and needs, whose lives and behaviors are both diverse and fascinating. And, I would learn, shrimps can be surprisingly charming when alive and well!
One of my first surprises was how extraordinarily busy shrimps are! They spend much of their time grazing on biofilm and debris and whenever I see them their little legs are in rapid motion. Often, I will spot them on the resident snails, readily cleaning their shells. They ensure the tank and all of its residents are spotless.
My next surprise was their peculiar grace. Due to their legs and ability to walk, I had never pictured shrimps swimming. In reality, they are adept and oddly elegant swimmers who very much make use of their full tank and love to use snails as landing docks.
They have also proven uniquely funny. Just as my dog companions fight over treats, so too do the shrimps. In the below video, you can see a more dominant shrimp push aside a friend who is trying to sneak a bite of food.
And finally, I was uncertain how well I would be able to differentiate one shrimp from the next, due to their miniscule size (less than a centimeter in length) and abundance (there are at least a dozen shrimps, but I’m unsure the exact number). However, it has proven easier than I expected because they have clearly demonstrated individual preferences. One shrimp spends afternoons resting on the filter sponge, while another is always hard at work on a particular spot of driftwood. Some are the first to head over during feeding time, while others are chronic late arrivals. One fry hides in a certain rocky nook and only makes appearances when the coast is clear. It’s a total pleasure to watch them each day and learn their individual habits and routines.
Each year, between 51 and 167 billion farmed finfishes are slaughtered. This number is dwarfed by the between 210 and 530 billion shrimps and prawns killed annually in aquaculture. With numbers so large, I can personally struggle to grasp the reality of the situation. And as an urbanite physically removed from aquaculture production, I’m also far removed from the animals I work on behalf of. Living with shrimps and watching their daily adventures has further affirmed for me the importance of the work we do and I’m proud of ALI’s efforts to give all shrimps, and all aquatic animals, lives worth living.